NEWSLETTER
It’s later than usual, but it’s the time of year when summer camp tryouts come through Chicago.
And even though it’s just a tryout, it’s good to keep an eye on who is walking through at Halas Hall:
Also on the list are QBs Mason Fine, Kevin Hogan and Kyle Sloter and WRs Rodney Adams, Jeff Badet and Alex Wesley.
— Brad Biggs (@BradBiggs) August 17, 2020
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune reports the Bears hosted eight players for tryouts. Among them were three quarterbacks. We discussed Mason Fine and Kyle Sloter late last week, only to find out they were joined by a Kevin Hogan. Very interesting.
Hogan, 27, has bounced around a bit since being entering the league. The Chiefs drafted Hogan in the fifth round (162nd overall) in the 2016 NFL Draft. He played eight games in two years with the Browns (2016-17). From there, Cleveland traded Hogan to Washington for a sixth-round pick (2018). After time in our nation’s capital, the Broncos claimed Hogan off waivers (2018). Hogan being in Chiefs camp means he crossed paths with Matt Nagy when he was the Chiefs’ QBs Coach. I’m unsure that connection will mean anything in the long run, but it couldn’t hurt to have a past with a coach whose team has a quarterback dilemma.
The other notable camp tryout with a noteworthy connection is wide receiver Austin Proehl. Not only is he the son of ex-Bears receiver Ricky Proehl, Austin was one of Mitchell Trubisky’s favorite targets in college. The North Carolina product’s most productive season came in 2016. That’s when he caught 43 passes, gained 597 yards, and scored three touchdowns as Trubisky’s draft stock took off. Meanwhile, Proehl didn’t go until Bills took him in the seventh round (pick 255) in 2018. So while I doubt the Bears are bringing in receivers just to make Trubisky comfortable, I can’t ignore the connection.
Whether the Bears sign Fine, Sloter, Hogan, Proehl, or any of the other tryouts is still to be determined. But having Halas Hall tryouts brings some normalcy to a training camp that figures to be anything but that.
